FACING DESTINY:
Children in European Portraiture (1500 - 1900)
Royal Luminaries Depicted as Children
in the Old Master Styles of the
German, Flemish, French and Spanish Schools
In NCMA’s Main Galleries
March 29, 2009 through May 25, 2009
France’s King Louis XIV, the “Sun King” and King Louis XV, the ‘Well Beloved;” Spain’s
King Charles III and Queen Isabella II; and Austria’s Emperor Joseph II are well known to us
through the many portraits in which we’ve come to know them as stiff, often forbidding
personages. But in Facing Destiny: Children in European Portraiture (1500-1900) we meet
these royal figures as children, often charming playful young children. Glorious oil paintings in
the style of the Old Masters Schools of Germany, Spain, France and other areas throughout
Western Europe explore formerly uncharted territory. Along the way, this priceless historic
treasure trove also offers a tour of the whole art of portraiture as it developed over the centuries.
Selected from the collection of the Fundación Yannick y Ben Jakober in Majorca, Spain,
the 40 works of the exhibition span nations and centuries. This showing of Facing Destiny,
opening at Nassau County Museum of Art on March 29 and remaining on view through May 25,
is part of a tour organized by the Fundacion Yannick and Ben Jakober; the tour is co-organized
and distributed by Exhibits Development Group, USA, project coordinator, Monika
Hirschbichler.
This extraordinary portrait collection delves into largely unexplored aspects of Western
history and takes us on a rare voyage through Western Europe style, fashion and artistic
development.
For the most part, the portraits represent the sons and daughters of important historical
figures, but there are also images of children of more modest origins. The royal portraits show
the sumptuous fabrics, intricate stitching and elaborate styles of children’s clothing, garb that
emulated adult dress in a time before childhood was seen as a separate and distinct phase of life.
Facing Destiny will appeal to art lovers, historians and families alike. Children will take
particular pleasure in the unfamiliar costumes, poses and demeanor of their painted peers as they
explore versions of childhood so utterly different from their own experiences.
Nassau County Museum of Art is located at One Museum Drive (just off Northern
Boulevard, Route 25A, two traffic lights west of Glen Cove Rd.) in Roslyn Harbor. Hours are 11
am to 4:45 pm Tuesday through Sunday. Docent-led tours of the main gallery exhibitions are
offered each day at 2 pm. On Sunday afternoon the museum offers supervised art activities for
children and their families and family tours of the exhibitions. Exhibition tours and Family
Sundays at the Museum are free with museum admission. Admission to the main building, the
Arnold & Joan Saltzman Fine Art Building, is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors (62+) and $4 for
students and children ages 4-12; includes admission to the Ridder MiniArtMuseum for Children;
MiniArtMuseum is open 12 pm-4:30 pm Tuesday through Sunday (admission to just the Ridder
is $5 adults, $4 seniors, students and children ages 4-12). Members are always admitted free.
There is a $2 parking fee on weekends (members free). The Museum Shop is open all museum
hours.
Call (516) 484-9337 for current exhibitions, events, days/times and directions or log onto
nassaumuseum.com.
Nassau County Museum of Art is chartered and accredited under the laws of New York
State as a not-for-profit private educational institution and museum. It is operated by a privately
elected board of trustees which is responsible for its governance. The museum is funded through
income derived from admissions, parking, membership, special events and private and corporate
donations as well as federal and state grants.
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Media/Photo Contact: Doris Meadows, (516) 609-9696, [email protected]
Public Information: Nassau County Museum of Art, (516) 484-9337, nassaumuseum.com
Photo Captions
PHOTO CAPTIONS
Object #1
Anonymous (German school, 16th century)
Portrait of a Child 18 Months Old, 1598
Oil on panel
16 7/8 x 12 5/8 inches
Object #04
Anonymous (English, 16/17th Century)
Portrait of Edward VI of England when Prince of Wales, ca. 1549
Oil on canvas
59 1/4 x 36 inches
Object #10
Anonymous (German school, 17th century)
Portrait of Prince Friedrich Ludwig von Württemberg (1698-1731), ca. 1699
Oil on canvas
33 ½ x 40 ½ inches
Object #15
Joan Mestre i Bosch (Majorcan school, 1826-93)
Portrait of a Girl with Cherries, ca. 1843
33 1/1 x 25 ¼ inches
Oil on canvas
Object #19
Attributed to Theodore Van Egmont (Flemish, 1627-1672)
Portrait of Marie-Anne Mancini as a Huntress, 17th Century
Oil on canvas
61 3/4 x 41 inches
Object #20
Studio of Juan Pantoja de la Cruz (Spanish school, 1551-1608)
Portrait of the Infanta Anne of Austria (1601-66), ca. 1614
Oil on canvas
27 ½ x 19 7/8 inches
Object #31
Circle of Jean Ranc (French, 1674-1735)
Portrait of Charles III of Spain as a child, 1726
Oil on canvas
32 3/4 x 26 3/4 inches
Object #34
Attributed to Lorenz Strauch (German, 1554-ca.1630)
Portrait of Prince Friedrich von Baden-Durlach, ca.1599
Oil on canvas
49 5/8 x 31 7/8 inches
Object #36
Circle of Jean-Baptiste van Loo (French school, 1684-1745)
Portrait of the Dauphin, Later King Louis XV (1710-74) of France, in Ceremonial Robes and
Armour, 1715
32 1/8 x 25 ¾ inches
Oil on canvas
Object #38
Willem Verelst (English school, active 1734-52)
Portrait of a Girl in a blue Dress with a Parrot in a Palatial Garden, ca. 1730-40
Oil on canvas
61 ½ x 40 ½ inches
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